The Cattleya Project

​Empowering women and promoting gender fluidity

Beginning as a series of performances created and performed by dancemaker and in2improv's founder S. Paola Lopez R., Cattleya grew into a women-led initiative nested under in2improv. Guided by those first performance-based explorations around the concepts of space (how do we take up space as women?), perception (how we perceive ourselves – physically, emotionally, spiritually – as women?), identity (how can we recreate our identity?) and presence (how are we present in this world?), this project now utilizes workshops and performances to empower women and their communities to reimagine and recreate representations of femininity and masculinity. The project is currently going to Sin Violencia A.C. - a women’s shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - on a regular basis to give movement-based workshops focusing on exploration and play. The Cattleya Project intends to promote artistic and social development by creating new gender performances and re-imagining the gender binary as a fluid and dynamic spectrum.

We are very excited to be part of TRANSFRONTERIZA - a project that seeks to empower women from both sides of the border to take leadership in the development of their communities. Click here to find out more!

Please note that starting in 2018 this site will no longer be regularly updated, but will continue to exist in an archival capacity. For current activities, please visit the Institute for Improvisation and Social Action at www.improvisationandsocialaction.org